• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Carmel Magazine

The Lifestyle Magazine of the Central Coast

  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food & Wine
  • Music
  • Golf
  • Cars
  • Subscribe to Carmel Magazine!

Fun for the Fans

February 1, 2013 by Alan Shipnuck

The 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will have all the familiar touchstones that have made the tournament so popular: beautiful golf courses, big-name pros, and an eclectic mix of famous amateurs drawn from Hollywood and the world of sports. But this year’s Pro-Am will also boast a number of significant upgrades that reflect the passion and vision of Steve John, who will be presiding over his second tournament as CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. John took over shortly before the 2012 Pro-Am and was little more than a caretaker. This time around, he has had a full year to revitalize a tournament that dates back to 1947.

“Everything we’re doing is about improving the fan experience,” says John. Much of the action is centered around the par-3 17th hole, which is being turned into a more highbrow version of the 16th at the Phoenix Open, golf ’s most celebrated gathering spot. The primary grandstands to the right of the 17th green and directly behind the tee are being enlarged, but the real excitement is happening behind the putting surface, with the addition of a new grandstand. “No one has ever been back there before,” says John. “It’s a great view for the fans and it gives the hole more of an amphitheater feel.”

Adjacent to the new grandstand will be the most significant new fan offering, a two-story sports bar that will be open to all ticket holders. (Access costs $50.) Officially titled the United Fairway Club, it will address Pebble’s lack of a central gathering spot for fans who don’t wish to wander hither and yon but crave more atmosphere than just sitting in the bleachers. The Fairway Club will feature a walk-up bar, a full food menu and numerous TVs. The glassed-in lower level will have stadium seating looking toward the 17th green. The open-air upper deck will have bistro tables and a great view not only of 17 but also the 18th tee and fairway.

“It’s really cool to bring fans closer to the 18th tee, because in the past you couldn’t get anywhere near it,” says John. The focus on the spectator experience extends to the tournament entrance, which has been relocated to the Peter Hay Course and rebranded as the AT&T Fan Zone. “There’s never been a strong sense of arrival,” says John. “We want to create a grand entrance.” Among the many new exhibits and interactive offerings will be a 7,000-square-foot tent called “Experience Monterey County.” It will feature displays and information highlighting the local cultural and recreational scene with a strong emphasis on food and wine.

Of course, amidst all this fun, an important golf tournament will be conducted. Defending champ Phil Mickelson headlines the typically deep professional field. Changes are afoot amongst the amateurs. One thorny issue for the tournament brass has been a long-standing loyalty to graying celebrities who haven’t been relevant to pop culture in decades and therefore have little appeal to many fans. John says that some of the oldtimers have been politely “rotated off,” making room for a younger, hipper collection of amateurs. Justin Timberlake returns for the first time in a while, but he may not have the best pipes in the field, as he will be joined by Charles Kelly, the singer for the Grammy winning group Lady Antebellum.

Carson Daly will tee it up this year, riding high as the host of the smash TV show “The Voice.” Surfing icon Kelly Slater will also be playing, and there are high hopes for another amphibious celebrity, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. At press time, he had yet to commit, but there is a strong chance Phelps will play in his first Pro-Am, feeding his new competitive outlet now that he has retired from swimming with a record 22 Olympic medals.

Various glamour-boy quarterbacks may also join the Pro-Am field depending on how their seasons finish up. John mentions by name Tom Brady, Tony Romo and “the Mannings,” also known as Peyton

All the upgrades to this year’s Pro-Am dovetail with John’s overall philosophy: “We’re not going to do anything to take away from what has made this tournament such a fabulous success for so many years. We just want to make little improvements where we can.”

BRING IN THE LADIES

One of golf’s big storylines in 2013 will be the fanfare that comes with the first Masters to be played with female members of the host venue, Augusta National. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Wall Street matron Darla Moore were chosen to break Augusta’s grass ceiling, adding some much needed diversity to a club that has long been a gathering spot for the ruling class. Being fitted for a green jacket is similar to being invited to play in the AT&T National Pro-Am in that business accomplishments are usually more important than golfing ability. One of the golf salon’s favorite new pastimes is speculating on which women will be the next members at Augusta National. Playing in the AT&T could be an important stepping stone if the tournament follows Augusta’s lead and begins to invite more women. In recent years only two have played: soccer star Brandi Chastain and Heidi Ueberroth, the president of global marketing partnerships and international business operations for the National Basketball Association. Chastain brought to Pebble a girl-next-door appeal and awesome athleticism, but any woman who has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a sports bra is probably not going to get a green jacket. Ueberroth, however, is a strong candidate. In addition to her weighty title, she has the right golf bona fides, as the daughter of Pebble Beach Co. managing partner Peter Ueberroth. And in her previous stints at the Pro-Am, Ueberroth displayed a strong golf game and an ambivalence for the spotlight that would surely please the lords of Augusta.

Plenty of other women who would be welcome additions to the Pro-Am field, to say nothing of the membership ranks at Augusta National. Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, the president and CEO of IBM, is a passionate golfer with history on her side: the previous four IBM CEO’s were given green jackets.

Carol Semple Thompson is a part of a great golf family and her accomplishments as an amateur landed her in the World Golf Hall of Fame–how has she never played the AT&T? Plenty of high-tech rainmakers have parlayed their business wizardry into Pro-Am appearances, so why not invite the most powerful woman in Silicon Valley, Marissa Mayer, the president and CEO of Yahoo? After all, she lists golf as a hobby on her official bio. And I’m guessing she looks great in green.

The 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament runs February 4-10. For more information, go to www.attpbgolf.com.

Filed Under: Winter 2013 Tagged With: Golf

Primary Sidebar

CURRENT & PAST EDITIONS HERE

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

GUIDETOCARMEL

READ THE GUIDE HERE

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music surfing Travel

ForAdvertisers

  • ► Publisher’s Note
  • ► Mission Statement
  • ► Ad Specs
  • ► Advertise in Carmel Magazine
  • ► Media Contact
  • ► Full Media Kit

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

  • Spring 2025
  • Winter 2024
  • Fall 2024
  • Summer 2024
  • Spring 2024
  • Winter 2023
  • Fall 2023
  • Summer 2023
  • Spring 2023
  • Winter 2022
  • Fall 2022
  • Summer 2022
  • Spring 2022
  • Winter 2021
  • Fall 2021
  • Summer 2021
  • Spring 2021
  • Winter 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Winter 2020
  • Fall 2019
  • Summer 2019
  • Spring 2019
  • Winter 2019
  • Fall 2018
  • Summer 2018
  • Spring 2018
  • Winter 2018
  • Fall 2017
  • Summer 2017
  • Spring 2017
  • Winter 2017
  • Fall 2016
  • Summer 2016
  • Spring 2016
  • Winter 2016
  • Fall 2015
  • Summer 2015
  • Spring 2015
  • Winter 2015
  • Fall 2014
  • Summer 2014
  • Spring 2014
  • Winter 2014
  • Fall 2013
  • Summer 2013
  • Spring 2013
  • Winter 2013
  • Fall 2012
  • Summer 2012
  • Spring 2012
  • Winter 2012
  • Fall 2011
  • Summer 2011
  • Spring 2011
  • Winter 2011
  • Fall 2010
  • Summer 2010
  • Spring 2010
  • Winter 2010
  • Fall 2009
  • Summer 2009
  • Spring 2009
  • Winter 2009
  • Fall 2008
  • Summer 2008
  • Winter 2008
  • Fall 2007
  • Summer 2007
  • Spring 2007
  • Winter 2007
  • Fall 2006

Footer

Carmel Magazine is the quarterly lifestyle magazine for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula, featuring the notable people and places, arts, food and wine, destinations, styles and events of Carmel and the Peninsula.

Address:
126 Clocktower Place, Suite 103
Carmel, CA 93923

Phone: (831) 625-9922
Fax: (831) 626-3613

Recent Posts

  • In Great Taste
  • A Grammy-Award Winner’s Home Hits All the Right Notes
  • Riding the Waves of Hope
  • A Driving Force
  • From the Bright Lights to Moonlit Nights

Search

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music surfing Travel

Copyright © 2025 Carmel Magazine · Carmel, California · Designed by BEAR★PRESS